Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of Graph Search.
Concept
Biochemical cascade
Summary
A biochemical cascade, also known as a signaling cascade or signaling pathway, is a series of chemical reactions that occur within a biological cell when initiated by a stimulus. This stimulus, known as a first messenger, acts on a receptor that is transduced to the cell interior through second messengers which amplify the signal and transfer it to effector molecules, causing the cell to respond to the initial stimulus. Most biochemical cascades are series of events, in which one event triggers the next, in a linear fashion. At each step of the signaling cascade, various controlling factors are involved to regulate cellular actions, in order to respond effectively to cues about their changing internal and external environments.
An example would be the coagulation cascade of secondary hemostasis which leads to fibrin formation, and thus, the initiation of blood coagulation. Another example, sonic hedgehog signaling pathway, is one of the key regulators of embryonic development and is present in all bilaterians. Signaling proteins give cells information to make the embryo develop properly. When the pathway malfunctions, it can result in diseases like basal cell carcinoma. Recent studies point to the role of hedgehog signaling in regulating adult stem cells involved in maintenance and regeneration of adult tissues. The pathway has also been implicated in the development of some cancers. Drugs that specifically target hedgehog signaling to fight diseases are being actively developed by a number of pharmaceutical companies.
Cells require a full and functional cellular machinery to live. When they belong to complex multicellular organisms, they need to communicate among themselves and work for symbiosis in order to give life to the organism. These communications between cells triggers intracellular signaling cascades, termed signal transduction pathways, that regulate specific cellular functions. Each signal transduction occurs with a primary extracellular messenger that binds to a transmembrane or nuclear receptor, initiating intracellular signals.
Official source
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.